LED vs Metal Hallide

SilasZaneB

SilasZaneB

Active Member
OK, so I need to know either to go with LED lighting or MH bulbs.

Conditions: 6.25 sq foot base with a 5 foot height

Which is cheaper? MH? LED?
Better effect on grow? MH? LED?
How many watts would I need? MH? LED?


if someone could help, id be super happy.
bongsmilie IM FUCKIINNGG RIPPPPEEEEDDDDDDDDD
 
J

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
LED will cost more than Metal Halide but is cooler than Metal Halide and costs less to operate both for electricity and bulb replacement (MH needs bulb replaced but LEDs are good for years if made well). Both veg exceptionally well and some folks like both for flower. I use LEDs for veg and flower. I'd put about 200 watts of LED on it (better in two fixtures) or about 400 watts of Metal Halide and you will be doing well.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
MH. Much more dependable, available locally in many cases and available mail order cheap as hell. Use the savings to buy a fan. LED technology has not been made affordable yet for grow ops.
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
MH. Much more dependable, available locally in many cases and available mail order cheap as hell. Use the savings to buy a fan. LED technology has not been made affordable yet for grow ops.
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LOL... I love it when people say shit like this.... makes me laugh...

You know we grow "money trees", right?
 
kgp

kgp

Well-Known Member
Beefbisquit said:
LOL... I love it when people say shit like this.... makes me laugh...

You know we grow "money trees", right?
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What's so funny? Makes sense to me. HID lights take more energy but produce more penetrating light. You can buy them all over. LED is a bigger initial investment and to tell you the truth I've seen many sub par grows with expensive setups. I'd go with mh.
 
kinddiesel

kinddiesel

Well-Known Member
you trying to get a good product and make money ? then buy mh . if u want to look cool and have a purple hue like some leds doo them buy led and look cool and make crap products
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Both will work very well. Jcmjrt is about right on the power estimates for your size, 400w mh or 200-250w led. Either way you go, the lights will help you get some good looking, healthy plants. Instead of mh, I would consider cmh or induction as viable options for a more complete spectrum. Good luck with whatever you decide on.
 
Chronikool

Chronikool

Well-Known Member
I think its funny how this question pops up every week or so...

As Puffenuff eluded too....there is no right or wrong here...just specific needs for your requirements and expectations. :)
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
If your base footprint is 2 X 3= 6sft. If your base is 6.25 X 6.25= 6.25 ft square. If you put MH in for the first, you would have a hard time getting a ~ 85* ambient temp

Several LED companies have decent lights for mmj (most don't), a few of the former are getting ready to introduce some substantial advancements that will justify their prices. If you don't have the $$$, you can cobble up a super simple DIY using a cheap vanity fixture and on the shelf screw bulbs.

2 X 4 X 5 tent; 3 yo 90watt ufo 90 (probably ~65w)+ vanity with various CW/WW/BW 3-7watt led bulbs= ~ 85w total

Pics from last Friday. She has fattened up ~ 20% more. Now in flush mode

Penetration? Pic 2 & 3 are > 2ft BELOW the canopy. Nuggz are phat & tight

YMMV

IMG_1187.jpgIMG_1183.jpgIMG_1185.jpg
 
trevronious

trevronious

Well-Known Member
somebody1701 said:
Am I the only one that doesn't understand this? I'm not even high...
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It's a crude assumption that everyone who grows weed does it for money. Which is irrelevant either way.

I go for quality... IN MY PERSONAL OPINION... LED grown herb is much better than any HID grown. That's reason enough for me to invest. Also, with DIY being so much cheaper than panels AND have a fully adjustable spectrum why not? LED is the future of lighting, grow lights included, and they've come a long way in the past few years.

I'm sure if you posted this in indoor growing you'd get many more reasons to hate LED though if you'd like.
 
Fonzarelli

Fonzarelli

Active Member
Beefbisquit said:
View attachment 2443720View attachment 2443721View attachment 2443722

Some of my LED bud...
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Those look really nice. I would appreciate your input on "wavelengths of importance" using only LEDs. I know the common ones, but from the LED light I've built I haven't seen good results, just really really poor ones. Trying really hard to figure out why/what/where I went wrong. Maybe it's the whole adaptation thing and my strains are just not ready to grow under them, IDK.
 
The Dawg

The Dawg

Well-Known Member
SilasZaneB said:
OK, so I need to know either to go with LED lighting or MH bulbs.

Conditions: 6.25 sq foot base with a 5 foot height

Which is cheaper? MH? LED?
Better effect on grow? MH? LED?
How many watts would I need? MH? LED?


if someone could help, id be super happy.
bongsmilie IM FUCKIINNGG RIPPPPEEEEDDDDDDDDD
Click to expand...
Ok You have Asked A Loaded Question And Im Very Supprised That More Led Haters Havent Chimmed In.Now I Will Not Tell Ya What To Go With Other Than If You Deicide On Mh I Would Go With The Cmh It Has A Much Better Spectrum Than A Plain Mh Bulb.Now Ppl Have Said That Leds Are More Expensive On The Initial Setup.This Is Not Nessarly True Expecially In Your Case.Lets Take A Peek At My Cmh Setups Initial Cost.Super Sun 6 Inch Hood 121.95 Crop Master Ballast 146.96 Cmh Bulb 73.95 Inline Booster Fan To Cool the Hood 51.95 Add About Another 75 To Hook Everything Up And The Total Is 469.81.Now My Area-51 AF 135 Is On Sale For 539.00.Hummm Leds Do Not Look very Expensive Now Do They And Bty Brother You Will Make Up The Difference With Your 1st Months Electric Bill.Heres A Link to Area-51 Website.

http://shop.area51lighting.com/index.php?id_category=6&controller=category
 
SilasZaneB

SilasZaneB

Active Member
The Dawg said:
Ok You have Asked A Loaded Question And Im Very Supprised That More Led Haters Havent Chimmed In.Now I Will Not Tell Ya What To Go With Other Than If You Deicide On Mh I Would Go With The Cmh It Has A Much Better Spectrum Than A Plain Mh Bulb.Now Ppl Have Said That Leds Are More Expensive On The Initial Setup.This Is Not Nessarly True Expecially In Your Case.Lets Take A Peek At My Cmh Setups Initial Cost.Super Sun 6 Inch Hood 121.95 Crop Master Ballast 146.96 Cmh Bulb 73.95 Inline Booster Fan To Cool the Hood 51.95 Add About Another 75 To Hook Everything Up And The Total Is 469.81.Now My Area-51 AF 135 Is On Sale For 539.00.Hummm Leds Do Not Look very Expensive Now Do They And Bty Brother You Will Make Up The Difference With Your 1st Months Electric Bill.Heres A Link to Area-51 Website.

http://shop.area51lighting.com/index.php?id_category=6&controller=category
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im building this small box. im going cheeaapppp. and i already have all materials except the lights/ballast (already have hood)
ive only spent $125 on it and it looks fantastic. ill post up some pictures this weekend. i keep it at my friends house because that's where we're growing.
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
Fonzarelli said:
Those look really nice. I would appreciate your input on "wavelengths of importance" using only LEDs. I know the common ones, but from the LED light I've built I haven't seen good results, just really really poor ones. Trying really hard to figure out why/what/where I went wrong. Maybe it's the whole adaptation thing and my strains are just not ready to grow under them, IDK.
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I've seen best results from LED's that use a large proportion of white light. My AF-240 grew the monster in the first pic. She was over 5' tall...
 
T

THE KONASSURE

Well-Known Member
A friend of mine use`s a 600w hps in his grow heat is his only issue not power so I let him borrow 2 300w led panels that were pretty red heavy 2w chips and around 250w draw I told him set them up when he`s flowering either side of his 600w hps and only run them for 2 to 6 hours of his 12 hour cycle

I spoke to him the other day and he was said that he`d never see the plants in his grow flower so hard

If you want to run an MH go for it I`d get a 400w and then I`d buy 1 or 2 red or red heavy led ufo`s and use them during flowering with the MH to boost it up.

Also to the penetration issue led`s it can be over come with a bit of a drop in efficiency by using much bigger led chips instead of the 1w to 3w chips that grow sog really well get a light with 50 to 100w led chips and you will get the kind of penetration that your used to seeing with a 600w to 1000w hps.

The more light and the less heat the better weed grows how you get your light is totally up to you.

I like to mix my light types I`m liking induction and led together at the moment on a budget I use cfl and led and if I was growing larger scale on a budget I`m sure I`d go with HID`s with some red leds probably just build 1 or 2 50w red led units to smack up during flowering or get an old 90w red heavy ufo from someone who thinks it`s totally useless

We call you people suckers as if the price is right I`ll use almost any light I can get my hands on, space to grow in is always my main issue. I do hear that HID`s show up pretty nice on thermal but I guess only worry about that if your not legal and growing large scale.
 
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